Philanthropy plus fun makes up 600-mile trek for Boulder adventurers

Eric Larsen and two others are setting out for a 600-mile human-powered trek across Colorado in 11 days. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

This Sunday, three Boulder adventurers will begin an 11-day bike, hike and pack raft expedition from Colorado's eastern border to the state's western border that they're calling the Coloradathon.

The 600-mile transect by polar adventurer Eric Larsen, former pro cyclist Ben Duke and endurance athlete Rebecca Boozan is dedicated to celebrating the value of outdoor lifestyles and raising money for a Golden-based nonprofit that gets under-resourced youth into the wilderness.

Larsen, who grew up in rural Wisconsin and is best known for his trips to the arctic, said anyone interested in the outdoors doesn't have to journey to Everest or the North Pole to find adventure. He said it can be found in the backyard.

"This trip just happened to be planned across Colorado, but we could do it across Boulder County in the same way," Larsen said.

The team will start by pedaling 100 miles for 3.5 days, hiking about 30 miles a day, then rafting to the finish along the Colorado River, Boozan said.

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The trip will be filmed at various points by Alpenflow Creative in an effort to capture the journey along the state's most rugged and revered wilderness. Daily audio podcasts, blog posts, social media content and photos will be available at ericlarsenexplore.com.

Boozan, who joined the team at the last minute and is recovering from tearing an adductor in the Leadman — a series of ultra-distance run and cycle races — said the mission aligns with her personnel philanthropy goals of physical endurance mixed with giving back.

"At the end of the day, everybody deserves to be able to get outside," Boozan said.

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